Demand for compact communications and computing equipment has increased dramatically over the last decade. Computers that can be held in the palm of your hand and wireless phones that fit in a shirt pocket are two examples of popular miniaturized machines. More recently, demand for wireless e-mail and Internet access has begun to soar, with experts projecting future demand to rise at unprecedented rates.
One problem associated with miniaturized communications and computing equipment is having a convenient way to input data, such as character and pointing device data, into such equipment. Early miniaturized computing equipment, typical of the 1990s, included a miniaturized keyboard that was scaled to fit the desired sized of the computing equipment. Typing a few words using such systems is quite laborious because the operator's fingers are typically too large to use the device as a traditional keyboard. Portable communication equipment, on the other hand, typically include a conventional 12-button keypad to input data. It is extremely difficult to use this set-up to enter non-numerical data. For example, to enter the word CALL, an operator would hit the button marked “2-A-B-C” three times for C, the button marked “2-A-B-C” once for A, the button marked “5-J-K-L” three times for L, and finally the button marked “5-J-K-L” three times again for the final L.
To ease the problem of character input, some manufacturers of both communications and computing equipment have recently developed pen-type portable devices in which a real keyboard or keypad is not provided and data input operations can be carried out by utilizing a miniaturized virtual keyboard displayed on a touch sensitive screen. The pen can also be used as a pointing device to select items on the screen. An additional feature of many touch sensitive screen systems is the ability to write characters with a pen or stylus that is recognized as individual characters by the device. Another recent development is the collapsible keyboard, such as those currently being marketed by Palm Computing. This keyboard may be folded and carried in a briefcase or even a pocket, and is opened and plugged into the miniaturized equipment before it is ready to use. Yet another development is voice recognition. However, this technology is not currently highly reliable and, as a result, input errors are common. Furthermore, numerous circumstances arise when voice input is not practical or appropriate. Moreover, voice recognition is not suitable for entering pointing device information.
While each of these methods represents a form of improvement over previous technologies, the need remains for a data input device for use with miniaturized communications and computing equipment that allows an operator to easily input characters and data into such equipment. Preferably, such an input device would incorporate wireless techniques to sense the position and motion of the operator's fingers to allow the user to enter data without the use of a physical keyboard or a pointing device.